Women participating in REST-Africa’s THRIVE+ flagship project in Ibonde, Fort Portal City, have completed a practical training session in liquid soap production. The activity introduces a new livelihood skill that the women can develop into a group enterprise and replicate at household level.
The training combined instruction with a hands-on demonstration. Participants observed the production process, worked with the materials and equipment, and took part in mixing a batch of liquid soap. Bringing the women together around a shared production exercise allowed them to learn each stage as a group and discuss how the skill could be applied beyond the training session.
For THRIVE+, liquid soap production is part of a broader approach to strengthening women’s economic participation. The groups intend to produce soap for sale, creating a potential source of collective income that can support their activities. Individual members can also apply the skill at household level, whether to meet their own needs or explore small-scale sales.
Turning the training into a viable enterprise will require more than knowing how to make the product. As the groups move towards production for sale, they will need to consider consistent quality, safe handling and storage, the cost of inputs and packaging, pricing, and access to customers. These steps will help determine whether soap production can generate a reliable return for the women.
The activity also connects livelihoods with community wellbeing. Locally produced liquid soap can increase access to a useful hygiene product within Ibonde, while sales may keep more of the value of that product within the community. At household level, an additional source of income can help women contribute to everyday needs and invest in other productive activities.
THRIVE+ is designed to build on the strengths and ambitions of women’s groups through practical, replicable skills. Alongside training in horticultural nurseries and brick keyhole gardens, liquid soap production gives participants another pathway to improve household resilience. The activities serve different purposes, but share one aim: helping women turn what they learn together into opportunities they can manage at group and household level.
The Ibonde session marks the beginning of that process. REST-Africa will continue working with the groups as they apply the production skill, assess its commercial potential and develop their approach to selling the soap. The impact will be measured by what the women are able to produce, use and earn over time—and by the opportunities they create for others in their community.
